the times they are a changin'
by Sha-Sha-Shadow
Summary: <html><head></head>some times I don't know who I resent the most, the capitol, 13, Katniss, or myself. AU OC</html>
1. Chapter 1

Yo, all! warning time (discalmers are very much comon sence- I mean why would I be writing Fanficton id I owned the novel rights?)

AU, OCs, spoilers, and any negative comentors will be virbally ripped a new one!

enjoy! ^3^

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><p>My eldest sister and I were standing in the doorway of our mother's room standing as still as can be, waiting for her to get off the phone with her friend in District 4. We both knew what I had to do, the question was: would mom really go along with it.<p>

"If I could do it, you know I would!" Poppy replied.

"I don't think Mama would let you do it either!" I whispered. We had just heard the news about the 75th Hunger Games, and we knew our mother was planning something having to do with the revolution that we all knew was coming- well, maybe not 12. My mom was a victor- the first to go into the arena with children back home- and she had never been quite right after words -but to be honest, who was? We both knew she was going to volunteer.

I had just become a Victor 2 years ago (right before Mrs. Katniss Everdeen), and I did _not, _under any circumstance, want to watch my Mother kill a man and/or woman, and possibly get killed herself. But that wasn't the full reason, I had 3 younger sisters and a younger brother, my older brother had lost his life to one Mrs. Everdeen- okay, fine, technically he lost his life to the girl from District 1, when he was fighting over that stupid orange backpack of hers! The point is, I didn't want them to watch their Mommy die too! Even if it mint lousing a big sister.

"girls?" my mom said and we both jumped. I guess we got ourselves so worked up that we forgot to listen for the 'click'.

"Oh, Mama, Lilac has something she wants to ask you!" Poppy said, giving me a slight shove, and disappeared into the house. Poppy was always the manipulative one.

"what is it Honey?" my mom asked in a low glamorous voice of hers.

I already knew the answer I was going to get, but I was going to ask anyways. "Mama, I want to volunteer!" I spat.

"No!" she replied, not even thinking about it. "sweet heart, you're not invisible!"

"I know!" I replied loudly. "but neither are you! And you're a mom! Calla's just a baby, he needs you!"

We stared at each other for a while, neither of us willing to back down.

Finally my mother spoke "fine! But you will let me be your mentor, and you better not die!" she hissed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" I replied, grinning wider than I ever have before.

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><p>The reaping was still a long ways off, when I decided I was going to tell my boyfriend about my up and coming travel arrangements. We arranged a meeting out in the woods on a large flat rock by the river, far from the prying eyes of hopelessly romantic little sisters and over protective parents.<p>

River, my boyfriend, was just about as close to perfect as you can get, if not perfect. He's understanding, kind, good with kids, always cheerful, and just an all around better and stronger person than I was! And of course he was attractive, with large sweet dark brown eyes and high cheek bones, and a silver smile, he was extremely tall, with broad shoulders and muscular arms from years of raising horses on his father's ranch.

Going out in the woods in district 9 -witch is were I live- is not the scandal it is in any of the other districts, because district 9's main exports were wild game, exotic pets, furs and marijuana, witch grew all over the country side. But the point is, those things are not easily obtained when restricted by a fence, of course we all had a tracking device similar to the ones used in the games, so if anyone decided to spit, they would be tracked down and brutally murdered in front of the entire district.

I sat patently awaiting River's arrival, as the orange and black butterflies fluttered from purple flower to purple flower and my horse-Buck- wandered threw the large field grazing on the tall grass, it was peaceful out here, away from all the death and disease of the main living area, these would be the memories that would help me keep my humanity in the arena.

"Lilac!" I jumped a little at the sound of my voice, I rolled over on my back to see River riding up on his horse.

Horses were the most important thing in district 9, they helped us with just about everything, moving large game, getting to places too far to walk, and when times got tough some would kill and eat them.

"River!" I replied happily, jumping to my feet and ran too him, giving him a lingering, almost apologetic kiss the moment his feet hit the ground.

When I finally pulled away he smiled goofily at me. "I have to talk to you!" I said quietly, effectively changing the mood of our encounter.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" River replied half jokingly.

I gave a faint smile and shook my head "no, not yet" I laughed. _but it's going to be equally as hard to say! _

"then what is it?" River said sounding much more relieved, witch is not as bad as it sounds; my mom, for what ever reason, will not tolerate any of her kids having kids -we think it might be a side effect of the mental trauma she experienced in the arena- and would surely kill me, River and the baby id I was in fact pregnant.

"I'm going back into the arena!" I replied quickly, hoping he wouldn't process what I said.

"What!" River replied, sounding livid, "No, you can't!"

I rolled my eyes. "this is my decision!" I said flatly. "and what am I supposed to do? Let my physiologically unstable mother get shipped of to die in front of her kids on live television? Because that's the only other option!" I turned and walked away, and plopped down on my rock by the stream, angry at River… myself… something!

"So you can't be talked out of this?" River asked.

I shook my head.

"well, I guess all I can say is: come back alive!" River said sitting down next to me and putting his arm around my shoulder.

"that might be asking too much!" I replied sadly resting my head on his shoulder. I wasn't stupid -although I sure played incredibly stupid for the viewing public in the grand ol' Capitol- I knew I would be fighting people with much more experience winning these games, I knew my mom and the others were making plans to do something big, but I didn't know what, and thus, I didn't know if it was going to involve my death or not!

River and I sat in silence for a while before I did the only thing I could do in a time like this, I sang the old song of the resistance:

_Come gather 'round people,  
><em>_were ever you roam  
><em>_And admit that the waters around you have grown  
><em>_And except that you'll soon be drenched to the bone  
><em>_If your time to you is worth saven'  
><em>_Then you better start swimen' or you'll sink like a stone  
><em>_Oh, the times they are a changin'_

_Come writers and critics,  
><em>_who prophesize with your pens  
><em>_Then keep your eyes wide, this chance won't come again  
><em>_And don't speak to soon for the weel's still in spin  
><em>_And theirs no telling who that it's naming  
><em>_For the loser now will be later to win  
><em>_Oh, the times they are a changin' _

_Come senators congressmen,  
><em>_please heed the call  
><em>_Don't stand in the door way don't block up the hall  
><em>_For he who get's hurt will b he who has stalled  
><em>_The battles are outside raging  
><em>_They'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls  
><em>_For the times they are a changin'_

_Come mother and fathers,  
><em>_threw out the land  
><em>_And don't criticize what you can't understand  
><em>_Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command  
><em>_Your old road is rapidly ageing  
><em>_Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand  
><em>_For the times they are a changin' _

_The line it is drawn__The curse it is cast  
><em>_The slow one now will later be fast  
><em>_As the president now will soon come to pass  
><em>_The order is rapidly fading  
><em>_And the first one now will later be last  
><em>_For the times they are a changin'_

_For the times they are a changin'_

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><p><strong>Triple-S-<strong> I've had this idea for a while (ever since I finished Mocking Jay in January) and I know were it will eventualy end, but I have not the slightest clue what will happen in between! and I will admit that I did not write the song, my creative range dose not stretch into the relm of song writing that often, but the lyrics and the song are both by (as far as I know) the wonderful Bob Dylan, I thought they fit the theme very well.

and furtheur more, I did not make Lilac a singer to rip of Katnis-I feel some of you might jump to that conclution- I made her a singer, because I'm a singer, I always have been I always will, most of my friends are singers, it's not that hard to be a good singer, there are a lot of them!


	2. Chapter 2

Everything else happened in a blur and the next thing I knew I was standing on the stage with my family, while Julius Everyman-a rather odd and vein little man who wore entirely to much lipstick and eyeliner- was making a very inappropriate speech about dead children, I wasn't paying much attention, my mind was else were, wondering who else was getting thrown back in the arena, did I know them? Were they my friends?

I was jolted out of my thoughts when I heard Julius say in a sing song voice "Ladies first!"

Of course there were only three names in the girl's raffle: me, my mom, and a reclusive drunk woman who had been locked up more than once for assaulting innocent bystanders, it was an easy bet to make- I had managed to hold onto my morals a little longer than most.

After about 3 minute into watching Julius dig around in the "giant fish bowl"-as my little sister, Iris, put it-before I stepped out of the crowed and raised my hand. "I volunteer!" I replied in the most unintelligent voice I could muster- I am not a patent person!

Julius froze "well okay then!" he replied in a voice that I could only describe as synthetically happy. "the female tribute from District 9 will be Ms. Lilac Rowland!" he said putting his arm around my shoulder (witch was a little awkward considering I was a head taller than him) so I slouched the best I could in 4-inch heels and grinned, trying to keep myself from busting into tears. "isn't she just beautiful?" I blushed.

I had been called beautiful by the Capitol people for years, I was the color of liquid paper, my hair was jet black, shoulder length, and wound into perfect baby doll curls (thanks to years of practice), and my eyes were a light purple color (lilac if you will). Of course all of these things were just a result of an uncommon birth defect, were my body produced too much melatonin-or what ever the stuff is in your skin that keeps the sun from cooking your organs- but basically my body just didn't absorbed sunlight at all, witch mint I had to drink about a gallon of milk a day to compensate for the Vitamin D that I wasn't getting from the sun.

"anyways on to the men!" Julius said in a sing song voice, he tried to spin me around as he walked to the other side of the stage, but he only succeeded in tangling me in my own arms.

He reached into the bowl and drew out a name (there were far more male victors, than female). "and the male tribute representing District 9 will be…" I distinctly remember that Julius always put long pauses right before the tributes name, this of course only caused us to hate him more!

"I volunteer!" a familiar voice rang out from the crowed.

"oh, no!" I muttered, as I watched River weave his way threw the crowd. "Oh, please no!"

River was up on the stage in an instant-he was fast when it counted. "I volunteer!" he reiterated, incase anyone didn't hear him the first time.

"I'm sorry, sir, but only former victors can volunteer!" Julius replied meekly, River had to be at least twice his size. "you can't volunteer!"

"who said that?" River replied, towering over Julius as if her were considering to kill poor Julius right there on the spot, with his bare hands. "I don't recall anyone saying the rules for volunteering had changed!"

He had a point there!

"I-but-I- Okay, fine what's your name?" Julius replied meekly.

"River Oakley!" River said sounding a lot sweeter than he did a few seconds ago.

"Alright!" Julius said sounding nervous. "River Oakley will be the male tribute for district 9!"

And with that I burst out into tears at the thought of River going into the arena, it was my absolute worst fear. The only reason I got over going into the arena the first time was because River was there when I got out to tell me it's okay, if he was gone, I'd have… no one. Well, I'd have my mother who didn't exactly fair well herself, and I'd have my manipulative older sister, but I can safely say neither of them would be much help.

"Lilac, what's wrong?" River asked, pulling me into his arms.

"please don't do this!" I whined brushing tears out of my eye, my eyeliner was running, but who cared? "I can't lose you too!"

"you won't!" River whispered, pulling me into a deep kiss that made my head spin, I heard Julius whoop, and several chears from the crowd.

But when we finally broke apart and I turned back to my mother with her indiffrent stair plastered on her face, I knew I was absolutely screwed!

* * *

><p>My mom never externalizes anger, the only way you really know she's angry is because she tightens her grip on things. So when she's not holding anything, so you never know if she's mad if she's not holding anything.<p>

That is exactly how it was the fist couple of hours on the train. Nobody wanted to talk, not me, not River, not the other Victors, not even Julius who normally talked all the time. Everybody knew River was in for it, one way or another. My mom just sat there, bouncing Calla- my 2-year-old little brother- on her knee while she stared at River with indifferent looking eyes.

Finally she spoke "Nicely played, Oakley!" she replied, running her fingers threw Calla's white blond hair. And the ice was broken, almost everyone burst out into conversation, everyone, it seemed, except for me and my mother, though that didn't stop Julius from trying to include me, he told me some long boring story about a woman who tried to bleach her skin to get it to look like mine, I didn't really register it, so please don't ask. I just sat quietly and ate my soup nodding politely when necessary.

Finally it was time for the recap. I don't really have anything to say about it that you don't already know, besides when my mom's friend Cecelia was called, my mom crushed her wine glass in her hands, and to be honest my stomach dropped when I saw her detach herself from her children- how was I supposed to kill a woman with four children at home? Suddenly, my mom's victory seemed much more plausible.

After the Recap I went straight to my room and climbed into bed, only to be joined by my little brother.

"Hey Calla!" I whispered. He snuggled close and closed his eyes. "are you gonna sleep with me tonight?"

He nodded sleepily "I like staying with you better, and Mommy is kind of scary tonight!"

I simply adored Calla, though now a days I really adored anything so completely innocent, because innocents is so completely rare in my life that when you I find it I try to protect it with all my might!

If I lost River I'd lose my only hope for happiness, but if I lost Calla I'd lose my only hope for… the world.


End file.
